The Reds Starting Rotation Is A Sign The Rebuild Is Making Some Progress

posted by Mo Egger, ESPN1530 -

One year ago, the Reds were playing a four-game series in San Francisco. They actually hit the west coast riding a measure of momentum, having won six of seven games, and even though fans suspected that the bottom would soon fall out, the team began its seven-game road trip just a half-game out of first place with a record of 18-15.

The four pitchers the Reds threw against the Giants that weekend were Bronson Arroyo, Scott Feldman, Lisalverto Bonilla, and Tim Adleman. Three of the four actually pitched pretty well. Arroyo went six innings and gave up two runs in a series-opening 3-2 win. Feldman went seven innings and allowed two runs in what would be a memorable 17-inning 3-2 loss. Bonilla gave the Reds eight much-needed innings in a 3-1 Saturday afternoon defeat. Adleman, for his apart, pitched just one inning before being chased in a 8-3 getaway day setback.

The club got mostly positive performances from their pitchers that weekend, even if they did lose three of four to a woeful Giants team going nowhere. But there was still an underlying problem: The Reds were nearly a quarter of the way through another season of the rebuild, meaning that the only positive results that mattered were those that signaled some potential for future success. And yet, the Reds were sending pitchers to the mound on a near-nightly basis that clearly weren’t part of their long-term plans.

ESPN Radio. Sports talk with Mike & Mike, Mo Egger, Lance McAlister, SportsCenter and more covering The Bengals and Reds here in Cincinnati as well as national teams from the MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA, Nascar and more!